1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat exchanger and, more particularly, to such a heat exchanger having means for enhancing heat transfer of media associated therewith.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has been long known, for example, in oil colors and transmission heat exchangers for internal combustion engines, that oil and similar fluids can be made to transfer greater amounts of heat therein by providing turbulators within the oil conduits. This increased turbulance permits the greater amount of oil to contact the inner surfaces of the conduit through which it flows for further transfer of the heat of the surrounding atmosphere. Examples of prior art include cross plate fins as well as sunburst type fins surrounding an inner core, both within the conduit. Both increase the effective surface area for transfer of heat from the oil to the conduit but are deficient, for example, in cost or efficiency of heat removal.
Other types of heat exchanger means are exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,359,288; 2,677,394; 2,826,220; 3,769,959; 3,783,938 and 3,981,356. In these patents, the devices require attachment or multiple intimate contact with the walls of the conduit in order to provide adequate support not only for the turbulators as a whole but also for the elements projecting therefrom, whether permanently attached to the conduit walls or not. In one case, U.S. Pat. No. 3,981,356, the turbulator is a mesh in which the specific turbulation producing surfaces were merely connected to adjacent portions. Such constructions are relatively expensive to fabricate, when mass produced, and may, in some cases, provide for a high degree of impediment to fluid flow.